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A. Edwin Keigwin; 




Class 

Book 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



1 



A Greater Christmas 



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BY 



A^ EDWIN KEIGWIN 

fastor oj West End Presbfjieriaji Church 
New York 



AUTHOR OF 
*^HB HUABT SIDE OF GOD," "THE NEW PATRIOTISM," ETC. 



PUBLISHERS 

THOMAS NELSON & SONS 

NEW YORK 



^\ 






COPYBIGHT, 1915, BT 

A. EDWIN KEIGWIN 




Press of 

J. J. Little & Ives Co. 

New York 



;^ nJry^tnSBni^^ 






DEC 131915 

©CLA416849 



'*/ travail in birth again until Christ 
be formed in you.^' 

St. Paul. 






the friends and fellow-laborers, /J^ 

members of ^ 

West End Presbyterian Church, 

whose unfailing love and loyalty 

b to me a priceless possession. 

This Book 

is affectionately inscribed. 



h 




CONTENTS 



I. The Challenge. 

II. A Great Christ for a Great Age. 

III. The Halo. 

IV. The Measure of a Man. 
V. The Spirit of a Man. 

VI. The Vision and the Man. 

VII. The Way to Bethlehem. 

VIII. Christmas in the Heart. 



j 



4 



I 

THE CHALLENGE 

"I WANT a Christmas that goes with 
great cities; a Christmas that goes with 
the Singer tower and the Imperator. 
A Christmas that is afraid, that does 
not dare to tackle a big, serious, actual 
social human fact, that in its secret 
heart longs for dells to be good in, we 
will not be put off with." 

Such are the words in which Mr, Ger- 
ald Stanley Lee voices a growing sen- 
timent. The world of big things and 
bigger men resents the apologetic pres- 
entation of an emasculated gospel. "The 
challenge goes out from a world of men 
to the churches. Give us a Christ who 
grapples with things. We will not have 
a weak Saviour who says * Please,' a 
plaintive person, a lovely outsider.'' | 

To find a challenge of this nature 
in a widely read secular magazine is 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




significant. With nothing to take its 
place, the world is coming back to that 
authority which we thought forever rel- 
egated to the attic and the dust of ages. 
The antique is again in vogue. 

There are very many straws to in- 
dicate that the tide is setting in. Here 
is another, an editorial, from a New 
York daily, in which the ring of the same 
challenge is clearly discernible. The 
evident intention was to record with 
pride another victory for American in- 
vention. But,^the trans-Atlantic tel- 
ephone receives scant praise as, driven 
by intense human longings, the editor 
proceeds to draw a deadly parallel. 
"The striking thing is the contrast be- 
tween the successful results of applied 
science and the blundering failures of 
modern statecraft. While inventors are 
bindmg the world together m one great 
conununity, annihilating distance and 
destroying the old geographical isola- 
tion, political (and ethical) leaders are 

8 



m 



I 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

a thousand years behind the times. 
We are as helpless, in the grip of blind 
sociological forces, as were the ancients. 
Until the moral leaders get abreast of 
the electrical and mechanical engineers, 
the inventions and mechanical achieve- 
ments will continue to be turned into 
instruments of wholesale destruction and 
horror. Before we can take another 
step in progress, there must be Edi- 
sons in the field of ethical endeavor.'' 
Grave is the indictment filed by an 
eminent British author and editor, Mr. 
G. K. Chesterton. "The whole col- 
lapse and huge blunder of our age is 
this: We have mixed up two opposite 
things. Progress should mean that we 
are always changing the world to suit 
the vision. Progress does mean (just 
now) that we are always changing the 
vision to suit the world. We are not 
altering the real to suit the ideal. We 
are altering the ideal; it is easier. The 
net result is this; we are Marxian one 

9 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



day, a Nietzscheite the next day, a 
Superhuman (probably) the next day 
and a slave every day. As long as the 
vision of heaven is always changing, 
the vision of earth will be exactly the 
same. The modem man will never 
change his environment so long as he 
is always changing his mind." 

In the foregoing excerpts we are placed 
face to face with the noblest longings 
of an awakened world, the impotence 
of modern faith and the subtle causes 
which have wrought our humiliation. 
^'They who debase their gods, will be 
debased by their gods." The proverb 
is hoary with approving years and sur- 
charged with the thunder of Sinai and 
the verdict of the Judgment Day. 

A weakened religion, doubtful of itself 
and hobbling about upon finite demon- 
strations is no longer tolerable. Nor 
will groping temperamentalism, fum- 
bling expediency and distressing sub- 
jectivity much longer be acceptable as 

10 



i&. 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

a substitute for faith. "We are in the 
presence of a spirit sternly contemp- 
tuous toward mere spiritual preten- 
sions/' as Dr. A. C. Hill puts it. The 
world is seeking a throne of ultimate 
authority, an authority that will bind 
all men in allegiance to high heaven and 
the flag of humanity. 

Amid the interminable shifting of 
scenes — intellectual, ethical, national, — 
a solitary personality has retained His 
place in the cast as star of the first 
magnitude. The challenge " Give us 
a Christ that goes with great cities" 
is but the applause that precedes the 
reappearance of Jesus in that inspiring 
spectacle "The Triumphal Entry." 

The hour of destiny has struck, turn 
dow^n the dazzling lights of artificiality 
that we may be alone with our thoughts 
as we behold the resplendent glory of 
the Great Christ. 



11 










n 

A GREAT CHRIST FOR A GREAT AGE 

In the foregoing challenge the essen- 
tial weakness of modem thought is 
unmasked. It is not vigorous, bold, 
daring. We celebrate the nativity of 
Christ, but we forget that nineteen 
hundred odd years have sped by since 
Christ was an infant. What we need 
is a heroic conception of Jesus, such as 
that expressed by the writer of the 
book of the Revelation, who sees Jesus 
in imposing form; His eyes a flame 
of fire; His voice as the sound of many 
waters; in His right hand the seven 
stars; in His mouth a sharp two-edged 
sword; His countenance as the sun 
shining in its strength; the earth melt- 
ing like wax before Him; the armies 
of Heaven following upon white horses; 
a rod of iron in His hand; upon His 
head many crowns; on His thigh a name 

12 



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A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



written, King of Kings, and Lord of 
Lords. Here are marshaled the recog- 
nized insignia of power, that, to the 
best of human ability, the dynamic 
energy of the superhuman Jesus, may 
be portrayed with the fidelity of a cam- 
era. Only with such a Christ, glorious, 
majestic, conquering, can we provoke 
enthusiasm from an age such as ours. 
It is this kind of Christ which the 
church is challenged to present. Such 
was the Christ whose advent Isaiah 
prophesied in the immortal words, "His 
name shall be called the Mighty God." 
Would it were possible to impress 
every Christian with the importance 
of getting a big idea of Jesus! If our 
religion is to keep pace with the trend 
of the generation this is imperative. 
'^ Power'' is the coin word of the hour; 
it is the personification of the spirit 
of the times; it is the crowning glory 
of this truly great age. Horse power, 
steam power, man power, heart power; 






13 



il 




a.. 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

but, what is greater than God power? 
Think of it! Let the mind dwell upon 
the thought — absorb it. And under- 
stand, Isaiah is not saying that Jesus 
is a channel of God power, or an illus- 
tration of God power. Avoid that pit- 
fall. The Hebrew word here translated 
"God," is never used symbolically, or 
metaphorically, or in a secondary sense, 
but always literally. Nor is the word 
ever used to designate any man save 
Jesus. The word means "God Him- 
self." Isaiah declares Christ to be the 
Divine energy lying back of all God- 
like manifestation. 

How wonderfully Christ fulfilled this 
prophecy during his short earthly career. 
In reading the New Testament, one 
cannot fail to note the resemblance 
between Jesus and God. Every crea- 
tive act, ascribed to God in the Old 
Testament, in the New Testament is 
ascribed to Jesus. Throughout that 
matchless ministry, Jesus constantly re- 

14 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

iterated the claim of identity with God 
and demonstrated its reality. Was it 
not this very claim that so outraged 
the Scribes and Pharisees, forming the 
basis of their most specific charge against 
Him? "He maketh Himself equal with 
God/' Jesus boldly announced himself 
possessed of every attribute of God, 
even power over death. "No man 
taketh my life from me, but I lay it 
down of myself. I have power to lay 
it down, and I have "power to take it 
again." And we remember that when 
they brought to Him the sick of the 
palsy, and the Scribes said within them- 
selves, "This man is a blasphemer,'' 
He turned upon the doubters with the 
words, "But that ye may know that 
the Son of Man hath power on earth. 
He said to the sick of the palsy. Arise, 
take up thy bed and go to thy house." 
And think of the superb confidence 
w^ith which Paul speaks to a scoflSng 
world, "I am ready to preach the 

I 15 



iM^i^:' 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

Gospel even in Rome, for I am not 
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for 
it is the Tpower of God.'^ In this case 
the word translated power is the Greek 
"dynamis,'' from which is derived our 
dynamite. Christ is the dynamite of 
God. Nothing weak in that concep- 
tion of Jesus. Paul is in no danger 
from the ever prevalent and fashion- 
able disease, skepticitis. Imagine, if 
you can, a man with such views rele- 
gating Christ to the nursery, the sewing 
circle or the pink tea. No, Paul thrust 
his standard into the very forefront 
of world power and conflict, at Rome, 
as he ranks Christ ^^far above all prin- 
cipality, and power, and might, and 
dominion and every name that is named, 
not only in this world, but also in that 
which is to come." There's a working 
faith for you. A faith to inspire self- 
respect and make itself respected even 
in a materialistic and militaristic age. 
What a big idea those early disciples 

16 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

must have had, to acknowledge the 
Kingship of Jesus amidst the pomp 
and splendor of Roman power. Pic- 
ture the authentic scene of their first 
acknowledgment. It was at Csesarea, 
the New York of Palestine; the sea- 
port into which poured the armies and 
wealth of a world empire. As one ap- 
proached from the sea, the most strik- 
ing object, among the many beautiful 
buildings, was a marble temple erected 
to the memory of Caesar Augustus. 
It was the shrine of Roman worship 
of military power. But, literally, stand- 
ing under the very shadow of this im- 
posing temple, the first disciples de- 
liberately turned their backs upon world 
power and gavel their love and allegiance 
to Jesus, the idealist. 

Thus both the parallel and the con- 
trast between God power and man power 
have been clearly drawn from the first 
century to the present. ''His name 
shall be called the Mighty God." 

17 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

"Christ the power of God unto salva- 
tion/' This is the great Christ for a 
great age. 

Do you know of anything more 
needed to-day, among Christian people 
especially, than just such a big idea of 
Jesus? We have whittled Him down, 
and analyzed Him, and ground Him 
in the mortar of speculation and re- 
duced Him with the acid of criticism 
until there is nothing left but a sweet- 
spirited, gentle idealism. Those who 
have a big idea of Jesus will not stumble 
over mere details of the nativity story, 
the nature of miracles, the mystery 
of the resurrection, and the probability 
of the second coming. Jesus went to 
the root of all unbelief when He said, 
''Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures 
or the power of God.'' 

There are two conceptions of Jesus 

: that we must avoid. We are not to 

^ think of Jesus as so loving and in- 

^ dulgent that men may do as they 

^t 18 





A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

please, neglect and reject Him, and 
at death be received into everlasting 
habitations, with the plaudit, ''Of such 
is the Kingdom of God.'' Nor are 
we to think of Him as being all thunder 
and anger. In the emasculated gospel of 
recent years we have presented a Cnrist 
not worthy of more than the ordinary 
respect accorded to any good man of our 
own generation. We need to preach Jesus 
as the Mighty God, with a mighty big 
heart, but a mighty long memory. 

I know very well there are those 
who speak disparagingly of a faith that 
makes such a conception possible. Not- 
withstanding, whatever one's views may 
be of Jesus and His matchless life, 
they are all alike founded primarily 
upon faith. To say that Jesus was 
not very God requires quite as much 
faith as to say that He was. The 
only diiBference is just here — the former 
faith is negative, destructive, while the 
latter is positive and constructive. 

19 



jj^iTiHi— ■ 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




Either is an intellectual venture, pure 
and simple, but that venture is the 
outstation of spiritual progress. 

There lives near New York a man 
who has won for himself a wide rep- 
utation for restoring broken down cap- 
tains of industry and finance. His 
method is exceedingly simple. He be- 
gins the restorational routine of each 
day by standing the men in line, and 
then he hurls this command at them 
like a thunderbolt, ^^Look up! If more 
people would look up in life, fewer 
would fall down. Look up, and you 
will be a new man.'' This is a broken 
down age, a broken down world, and we 
need some prophet of the rugged propor- 
tions of Isaiah or Paul to make us toe the 
mark and command us to look up. The 
Greek word for man means '"up-looker." 
Look up, my friend, get a big idea of 
Jesus, and you will find that your whole 
spiritual, intellectual, and moral nature 
will enlarge enormously. 

20 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




This leads us to the sweetest of all 
Christmas thoughts — sweetest, because 
it brings Christmas into one's own per- 
sonal life. When we gain this big idea 
of Jesus, we make the glad discovery 
that this dynamite of God is a friendly 
power. It operates in one direction — 
"Christ is the power of God unto 
salvation.^ ^ In this respect Christ's 
power is quite unique. Can you name 
any other known power which uniform- 
ly works for salvation.'^ In its very 
nature, power is destructive. This fact 
is taken into account before energy of 
any kind is utilized. In boiler, dynamo, 
gun, nation and individual, power be- 
gins to destroy almost from the mo- 
ment it first exerts itself. Saving pow- 
er; this is what the world is seeking. 

Christmas is celebrated everywhere, 
even by Jews, Turks and infidels, be- 
cause the conviction is growing that in 
Christ-power alone is there hope of sal- 
vation for the human race. 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

Let US get a big idea of Christ this 
Christmas — at least nineteen hundred 
and fifteen times bigger than it was 
that night when the Holy Infant was 
placed in Mary's arms. Christ is no 
longer a babe, — except in the heart 
that has just received Him. 



^'': 



22 






-tssmmi^'^m 




m 

THE HALO 

Civilization has collapsed for ob- 
vious reasons; It has become an empty 
robe, a tenantless structure. Burke 
wrote, ^^Our civilization has, in this 
European world of ours, depended for 
ages upon two principles — the spirit 
of a gentleman and the spirit of re- 
ligion." Decay set in because the spirit 
left the body. When Civilization be- 
came Knickknacks and Culture be- 
came Kultur, the throne of Christ 
was usurped by Kings of finance, and 
what not. We prated of a kingdom 
wherein dwelleth righteousness, justice 
and brotherhood. True to every law 
of logic, we have found the kingdom 
partaking of the nature of its king. 
The demand for a greater Christmas, 
a greater Christ, is an appeal for reality. 
Men are no longer satisfied with holi- 

23 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



day tinseL There is a growing convic- 
tion, that in Christmas is a hidden 
source of power, — ^power that will com- 
pare favorably with the most striking 
examples of physical greatness. To tap 
this spring of energy and analyze its 
nature is the goal of our quest. 

Some things are so sublimely great 
that they defy portrayal. They must 
be seen or experienced to be appreciated. 
It is told of a celebrated artist that he 
journeyed many miles to the Grand 
Canyon and came away without so 
much as unpacking his brushes. When 
pressed for the reason, his reply was: 
"I could not insult God.'' So, lan- 
guage breaks down, the imagination is 
bankrupt, when one seeks to delineate 
the greatness of Jesus. 

True, many have been the attempts. 
Some have sought to depict Him in 
colors historical; but the portrait was 
merely that of a man. Others have 
painted Him in ethical terms; but the 




SSSSj&tmi 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

picture was that of an ideal. Yet others 
have dipped their brushes in their own 
hearts and upon the sky mixed mystical 
colors; but art critics pronounce it the 
portrait of a phantom. 

There was ample justification for the 
action of the Constantinople Council 
(A. D. 754) which declared, "Christ is 
too exalted to be figured in human 
art.'' With the best of motives and 
under the most favorable circumstances 
the artist works with inadequate pig- 
ments. His painting reflects human 
imperfections more than it does the glory 
of Christ. The resemblance between 
the picture of Jesus by Albrecht Diirer, 
and a portrait which the artist made of 
himself at twenty-eight has been com- 
mented upon. 

Those of us who have visited the 
cathedrals and galleries of Europe will 
fully appreciate the remark of a Greek 
monk to Titian, "Your scandalous pic- 
tures are as bad as they can be." It 

25 



^^^iTtfj-^Mgn'-iar^. 





A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




could not be otherwise. And to-day's 
would-be artist of the invisible need 
look for no better reception for his 
portrayal. The canvas must be stretched 
and the colors spread by unseen hands 
or the picture of the great Christ will 
remain unpainted. 

In the fifteenth century, there 
emerged, from an obscure home in Italy, 
a man of rare genius and surpassing 
versatility. He was a painter, sculptor, 
architect, engineer, inventor and man 
of science. He designed bridges, scaling- 
ladders, breech-loading cannon and the 
most ingenious mechanical toys. He 
made lions that walked, lizards that 
rolled their eyes, and birds with flap- 
ping wings. Almost nothing seemed 
beyond his power and ken. The great- 
est product of this mind and heart 
was a well-known painting, "The Last 
Supper." Leonardo da Vinci devoted 
ten long years to this noble work. His 
brush assembled the disciples of our 

26 



n 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

Lord and escorted them, one after an- 
other, to a place at the sacramental 
table; it traced in the Master of the 
feast and arranged the drapery of His 
garments. But, at that point the brush 
rebelled. The genius of Leonardo was 
bafl3ed. He could not paint the face 
of Jesus. Long did he pray and wait 
for the inspired moment — ^but it never 
came. He died leaving less able hands 
to finish his masterpiece. AH reverent 
scholars, historians and preachers are 
supremely conscious of the same limi- 
tations. 

Personality is elusive. The fragrance 
of violets cannot be captured by the 
speediest lens or the ablest brush. 
Personality is the fragrance of the soul. 
Long before psychologists began to speak 
of our ^'astral bodies" great painters 
realized the presence of a form within 
the physical form. Hence, when com- 
pleting a portrait or an image the old 
masters encircled the head with a ring 

27 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



y 



of gold. The halo represented personal 
values, which, though perceived, es- 
caped the brush. It is this mysterious 
element of which Christmas speaks 
to us. 

Personality is a paradox, according 
to St. Paul, "Unknown and yet well 
known." True of us, it is more true 
of Jesus. A beautiful chastity is pe- 
culiar to personality. Only upon rare 
occasions and to kindred spirits does 
Christ reveal His glory and power, and 
then but for a moment. It is a snap- 
shot; but that treasured picture-mem- 
ory becomes the beckoning angel that 
leads the soul to another unveiling, and 
another, and still another. So each 
succeeding century has brought man 
closer to Christ, as it has led him nearer 
to the stars, the wisdom of yesterday 
becoming the ignorance of to-day, 
Christ and Christmas should mean more 
to this than to any former generation. 
That He is more, the challenge, '^Give 

£8 . 






A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



US a Christ that goes with big things/' 
is abundant evidence. 

The elusiveness of Jesus is at once 
His charm and our incentive. ^^It is 
the glory of God to conceal a thing; 
but the honor of a king is to search 
out a matter.'' The thought expressed 
by Solomon is this: the higher instincts 
of man demand a soul-spur, which con- 
cealment alone affords. When we think 
we have arrived at the goal of inquiry, 
we discern, to our surprise and intense 
delight, that we have but made a be- 
ginning. There is an exhilaration of 
adventure in the pursuit of the elusive. 
Without doubt, this accounts, in some 
measure, for the fascination which has 
kept the eyes of all classes and condi- 
tions of men fixed upon the Bethlehem 
star. 

The heart of the race is young, not 
old. The mind of man is alert, not 
atrophied. The faith of humanity is 
virile, not dead. Therefore, the world 

29 





afc^..^^-;.raiiifej«<t^ — 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

turns to the future with the eager ex- 
pectancy of one who faces the dawn. 
It is morning on the hills of history 
and the valley is astir. We salute the 
rugged mountain peaks, yonder; inspir- 
ing ascent; our joy and defence through- 
out intermittent days and nights. We 
bow to the art of Greece; we bow to 
the scholarship of Germany; we bow 
to the literature of England; we bow 
to the jurisprudence of Rome; we bow 
to the invention of America. But the 
"Sun of righteousness ariseth, with heal- 
ing in his wings." We worship Christ. 





SO 



Mm # rf^i 



IV 

THE MEASURE OF A MAN 

We live in two worlds — the world 
without, and the world within; the 
world of the seen, and the world of 
the unseen; the world of the real, and 
the world of the ideal. The one we call 
physical life, the other spiritual life. 
As a matter of fact, every physical 
activity is an effort to express, in some 
tangible way in the world without, 
as much as possible of all that is trans- 
piring in the world within. The ar- 
chitecture, art, music, poetry, science, 
philosophy and invention, of every age, 
have been the material transcript of 
moods and tenses, emotions and visions 
of the inner self. Great passions have 
swept the invisible strings of human 
emotion, and the canvas, poem, and 
musical score have inscribed the story. 
Great visions have passed in panorama 

31 



iM 







A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

before the inner sight, and the sciences 
have declared the revelation. But the 
truest, noblest, loftiest expression of 
this inner life is found in religion. Re- 
ligion is the transcript of a souFs emo- 
tion, or vision, when standing alone 
before the Maker. 

Such is this transcript: "When I 
saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.''* 
John has gazed into the inner world, 
and he seeks to acquaint us with what 
he has seen. In the first chapter of 
the Revelation he describes his vision 
of the Great Christ. The record is 
minute in every detail. It tells of 
Christ's countenance, eyes, hair, head, 
feet, garment, girdle, and voice. But 
that which impresses one more than all 
else, is the effect of the vision upon 
John himself, — "I fell at His feet as 
dead." These words furnish the theme 
for another Christmas meditation. 

In these essays we cluster our thoughts 

* Revelations i, 17. 

32 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



about three propositions, which seem 
axiomatic. First, the measure of any 
man is the measure of his vision. John 
was a man of large vision, therefore 
John was a great man. The world 
has ever delighted to honor her prophets, 
poets and seers. We recognize that the 
greatest men are those whose vision 
penetrates the farthest into things of 
nature, or human experience. Man is 
by nature a seer. It is this God-like 
quality that differentiates him from the 
brute creation. 

In like manner one order of man is 
distinguished from another. The nar- 
rower the vision, the more man re- 
sembles the beast; the wider the vision, 
the nearer he approaches Him in whose 
image he was created. 

Now test this proposition by appli- 
cation to one or more of the various 
fields of human endeavor. Are men 
measured by their vision .^^ Most cer- 
tainly* 

33 



i 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

The measure of the scientist is the 
measure of his vision. Who have been 
the world's great scientists? The Dar- 
wins, the Keplers, the Faradays, and 
the Newtons — men whose vision pen- 
etrated beneath the surface of natural 
phenomena. They saw more than their 
contemporaries, and that vision made 
them great. 

The measure of the poet is the meas- 
ure of his vision. Who have been 
the world's great poets? The Shakes- 
peares, the Miltons, the Dantes, the 
Brownings and the Longfellows — men 
who could see forms of life in the rugged 
mountains, the changing foliage, and 
the dissolving clouds. 

Similarly the measure of the Chris- 
tian is the measure of his vision of 
Christ. Who have been the world's 
great Christians? Men like Saul of 
Tarsus, and John the beloved, and 
Stephen, and Hugh Latimer, and John 
Huss, the martyrs, and Fannie Crosby, 

34 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

the queen of Christian song, who, de- 
nied the blessing of physical sight, con- 
tinually stood in the presence of the 
invisible, and saw with ever widening 
vision the divine verities. 

John had a vision of the great Christ. 
It was the vision of the Christ behind 
the Christ; the Christ within the Christ. 
It was not a vision of His humanity, 
but a vision of Deity. The study of 
the humanity of Christ is quite uni- 
versal. Such a study is fascinating, 
but often wide of the mark. Vision 
is no more necessary in the study of 
the human life of Jesus than for the 
study of the life of Cromwell or Caesar. 
Historical research is a matter of intel- 
lectual apprehension. Visions are soul- 
studies. One may read the story of 
Christ's earthly life and derive no vital 
knowledge of the Christ of all power 
and glory. Nor will one ever see Him 
thus, until with the eyes of the soul 
one looks beyond the facts of history 

35 







A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

and penetrates that realm across the 
threshold of the stars. This is not 
mysticism. With feet upon the ground, 
our foreheads must touch the clouds. 

Let us consider one or two concrete 
examples of the importance of this inner 
vision. Christ had been speaking to 
His disciples; telling them of the Father's 
house of many mansions. As He con- 
cluded, *^ Philip saith unto Him, Lord, 
show us the Father and it suflficeth 
us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I 
been so long with you, and yet hast 
thou not known me, Philip .^^ He 
that hath seen me hath seen the 
Father.'' Philip is looking upon the 
humanity of Christ, and has not caught 
the vision of the Christ behind the 
Christ. 

It is after the crucifixion; two dis- 
ciples are on their way from Jeru- 
salem to a village called Emmaus. They 
are disconsolate. Jesus draws near and 
journeys with them. They tell Him 

36 



rU 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



of all that has taken place, — as though 
He had not been the chief actor in the 
drama, Christ reproves them, and be- 
gins to unfold the Scriptures to these 
blinded disciples, who look upon Him, 
but know Him not. Upon reaching 
their destination, Christ accepts their 
invitation and goes in to sup with them. 
"And it came to pass as he sat with 
them at meat He took bread and blessed 
it, and their eyes were opened, and they 
knew Him." They had seen His hu- 
manity, but now they see Him in His 
glory. 

Such was John's vision of Christ. 
Behind the mere facts of history, John 
saw the divine King of his life. Have 
you had this vision? Have you recog- 
nized something more than an histor- 
ical personage? Have you seen Christ 
in some song you have heard, some 
aflBiction through which you have passed, 
some sermon to which you have lis- 
tened? I ask this question, because the 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

measure of your spiritual life and at- 
tainment is the measure of this inner 
vision. 








38 








THE SPIRIT OP A MAN 



H^ 



The measure of the vision depends 
upon the spirit of the man. John, the 
revelator, described a distinct condi- 
tion of mind which made possible his 
vision of the great Christ, *'I was in 
the spirit on the Lord's day." What 
are we to understand by this.'^ We are 
told that John alludes to some special 
anointing of the Holy Spirit. Pos- 
sibly so. But the simplest interpreta- 
tion is perhaps the best for our present 
purpose. "I was in the spirit*' certainly 
means that John had gotten himself 
into the spirit of the occasion; he had 
prepared himself to be carried away 
into the "seventh heaven,'' as he puts 
it. For that reason he was brought, 
very consciously, into the presence of 
the Almighty. Patmos was a holy 
place, because the only worshiper on 

39 




iii;^£2immimiSa^^ 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



that Sabbath was in a holy frame of 
mind. Had John been otherwise mind- 
ed, there would have been no vision. 
The vision was not around him; it 
was within him. He was in a frame of 
mind, a condition of soul, that responded 
to the touch of God. Whenever a 
man is in the spirit of the occasion, 
he is sure to derive benefit. So we 
argue that the measure of one's vision 
depends upon one's spirit. 

Is this in harmony with secular ob- 
servations? Let us see. Yonder is a 
mountain. A man draws near to the 
mountain in the spirit of a builder. 
What does he see.? Building stones, 
little else. Another approaches the same 
mountain in the spirit of a scientist. 
What does he see? Secrets — wonderful 
secrets, visions of the subtle working 
of invisible fingers. Yet another ap- 
proaches in the spirit of an artist. 
What does he see? Perspective, color- 
ing, form, — a picture. The spirit of 

40 



/^l 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




the man determines not only the meas- 
ure, but the kind of vision. 

Precisely the same law holds good 
in the realm of religion. One person 
approaches the church, the Bible, and 
Christ, in the spirit of criticism. What 
sort of a vision shall we expect for 
such an one? The very vision which 
he has, — imperfections. Another ap- 
proaches in a purely scientific spirit. 
What does he see.? Just what you 
would expect. Scientific inaccuracies 
and blindly credulous devotees. But, 
thank God, there are those who draw 
near in the spirit of faith, and with 
spiritual preparedness. Such men al- 
ways gain a vision. 

The sense of Christ is not intellec- 
tual; it is moral, like the sense of right 
and wrong. To say this, is not to be- 
little intellect. The mind is to the 
soul what a field glass is to the eye — 
it enlarges the scope of vision and gives 
clearness of definition to that which 

" fell 






A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

is remote. Even the highest power 
optical instrument cannot give sight 
to blind eyes. No more can intellect 
give sight to the spiritually blind. No 
process of reasoning will enable a ma- 
terialist to understand a mystic. There 
are those who should never celebrate 
Christmas because they kill it. "Eyes 
have they but they see not, ears have 
they but they hear not, neither do they 
understand." Even at best we "see 
through a glass darkly,'' and, when 
not in the spirit of the occasion, we 
do not see at all. Therefore, we may 
not assert it too strongly, the measure 
of the vision is determined by the spirit 
of the man. 

"The Spirit of man is the candle of 
the Lord."* 

In every serious inquiry it should 
be continually borne in mind that the 
primary element in all knowledge is 

*Prov. XX, 27. 

42 




as.' 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

life. "He has no eye for art; no ear 
for music," is not to say that physical 
organs are dead or missing. It is 
only our way of noting the fact that 
the aesthetic instinct or capacity is 
dead or never existed. One must have 
a soul for art, music, righteousness, 
love, to perceive values in these realms. 
The basis of the larger knowledge of 
life is life. Knowledge is therefore 
within us, not without. Given this 
inner capacity for knowing, then the 
physical organs find, in the world 
without, abundant material with which 
to build up a sure defence of argu- 
ment and proofs. This is the thought 
so strikingly and beautifully expressed 
in the proverb of Solomon "'The Spirit 
of man is the candle of the Lord." 
Let a man take his candle to God 
for lighting and he may then enter 
the darkest chamber in reasonable 
safety. The candle may not dispell 
all the shadows, but it will at least 

43 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

enable him to see where to place 
his feet; and that is quiet sujfficient, 
for we go through life a step at a 
time. 



• /^ 






■a/ii;jta»tej>^H^ -r<^,.-.. 



VI 

THE VISION AND THE MAN 

The greater the vision, the more 
humble the man. The more a man 
really knows the more does he realize 
how little he knows. He is most likely 
to be appreciative of the worth of 
others who has the largest worth in 
himself. There is a reason for this. 
As the vision widens and deepens, we 
suffer by comparison, necessarily. How 
strikingly is this illustrated in the life 
which we have been analyzing. As he 
beheld the true glory of the Lord, the 
vision humbled and prostrated John, 
who declares ""When I saw Him I fell 
at His feet as dead." 

Such has ever been the effect of a 
vision of the great Christ. When 
Isaiah had that vision he cried, "Woe 
is me, for I am undone, because I am 
a man of unclean lips, and dwell in 

45 




iib"rT-ii^'jiaT^M?airiirt 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




the midst of a people of unclean lips, 
for mine eyes have seen the King/'* 

A notable instance is also found in 
the story of the publican and the Phar- 
isee. Two men in the same temple, 
upon the same occasion, and for the same 
purpose — to pray. Note the difference. 
The Pharisee is haughty and self-sat- 
isfied. Oh, the sarcasm of the Bible 
record! "The Pharisee prayed thus 
with himself — ^not with God, he had 
not seen God, nor could he in such a 
frame of mind. — "Lord, I thank thee 
that I am not as other men.'' And the 
publican? He stood afar off. He could 
not lift his eyes to heaven. He smote 
upon his breast, as though he would 
say, "Thou wicked heart within me, 
thou cruel, cruel, black and sinning 
heart." And then he prayed to God, 
"Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner." 

These examples may be duplicated 
without number. Some men are proud 

P *Ezek. i, 28; Dan. viii, 17. 





A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

and self-satisfied as they listen or read 
— because they have not seen the vi- 
sion. They remark, *'0h, I am good 
enough! I am as good as the average." 
Press them further and they reply, 
*'I believe in Christ, and acknowledge 
Him to be the only perfect man, but 
I feel no necessity of making a con- 
fession of my sins to Him." On the 
other hand are those who have the 
vision and recognize the humiliating 
contrast. They bow their hearts, as 
well as their heads, as they pray, "We 
leave undone the things that we ought 
to do, and we do the things we ought 
not to do." Be comforted, contrite 
one, this is an unmistakable sign that 
you have caught the true vision of a 
great Christ. 

Years ago, in an Ohio city, there 
lived a gentleman of great influence 
and eminence. A successful barrister, 
he attended the church of his fathers 
with a good degree of regularity, but 

47 



i* 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

he had never made any acknowledg- 
ment of faith. His life was above re- 
proach. He was easily the leading citi- 
zen in the state. Men in every walk 
of life looked up to him. One evening 
he informed his wife that he was going 
to his office to keep a very important 
appointment. He went by a side street, 
which he rarely used, and had almost 
passed a small church, when, through 
the windows, there came wafted to 
him on the wings of song those sweet 
words, — 

^^ There's a Stranger at the door. 
Let Him in.'' 

He paused a moment, deliberately re- 
traced his steps, and, urged by a sud- 
den and subtle impulse, he descended 
the steps and entered the lecture room. 
For the first time in his life he caught 
the vision and definitely accepted 
Christ. Returning to his home, with- 
out going to his office, he met his dis- 

48 




1 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

tressed wife at the door. "My dear/' 
said she, 'Hhere are two gentlemen 
in the parlor who have been waiting 
for you for some time. They tell me 
they had an appointment with you 
at the office, but you did not appear. 
Oh! I have been so anxious, fearing 
that something had befallen you.'' 
Without a word of apology he turned 
to his wife, and with joy in every line 
of his countenance, said, "The most 
wonderful thing has occurred this even- 
ing.'' "Well, don't tell me about it 
now. You had better go in and see 
your friends." "No, I cannot keep it 
a moment longer. I have found Christ." 
"But," said she, "let's not talk about 
such matters here, we shall be over- 
heard. Come back into the kitchen." 
He straightened himself up, a mo- 
mentary flash of resentment kindling 
his countenance, as he said, "I have 
kept Christ out of my life for over 
forty years; do you suppose that I 

49 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

will now take Him into the kitchen?" 
Laying his hand upon the door of the 
parlor he entered, and there was no 
business transacted that evening. 
Frankly he stated what had occurred 
to him, confessed his inability to com- 
prehend it all, and told his astonished 
friends the joy that had come into 
his heart at receiving Christ. That 
man was Chief Justice of the State of 
Ohio; subsequently, a member of the 
United States Supreme Court. What 
had transformed him? It was not ar- 
gument. It was not a sermon. No 
great affliction which had cast its shadow 
athwart his path. It was a vision — a 
strong religious impression. For the 
first time in his life the mind had been 
sufficiently off guard and open for him 
to catch the vision of the Christ be- 
hind the Christ — the great Christ. May 
this vision be yours. Whatever your 
attainments, social position, or intel- 
lectual gifts, may you have the vision 

50 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

of John, and like him may you fall 
at His feet as dead, that He, reaching 
forth His hand of love, may touch you 
and say, "Arise and live/' The meas- 
ure of the man is the measure of his 
vision. 



^\ 



51 





vn 

THE WAY TO BETHLEHEM 

"I CAME of Christian parents, and 
was reared in a Sabbath school. From 
childhood I have been a regular at- 
tendant upon the services of the sanc- 
tuary. I am now sixty years of age, 
and throughout my whole life I have 
been more or less concerned about per- 
sonal salvation, having purposed, upon 
several occasions, to identify myself 
with the church. But, frankly, Sir, 
the process of becoming a Christian 
is still a great mystery to me.'' 

The gentleman with whom I was 
talking was a commanding figure in 
the community. I have not been able 
to erase from my memory his con- 
cerned countenance and confession. And 
what is more, I have felt a certain 
sense of self-accusation, that such men 
could sit under my preaching without 

M 52 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



gaining a clear idea of a thing so ele- 
mental as the plan of salvation. 

When allusion is made to the plan 
of salvation we think of something 
beset with endless terminology. We 
have come to associate salvation with 
such words as regeneration, justifica- 
tion, sanctification. There was a time 
when these words, as sweet morsels, 
were rolled under the tongue. Even 
the children had quite a clear knowl- 
edge of their meaning. But such is 
no longer the case — more's the pity. 
Perhaps, as some have said, these theo- 
logical terms have muddied the stream 
of salvation — ^perhaps not. Be that as 
it may, the question of absorbing im- 
portance is how are we to make perfectly 
clear, to this friend of ours, the process 
by which Christmas comes to a human 
heart. 5^ 

Dr. Archibald Alexander Hodge, that 
great theologian, required a volume 
of eight hundred and eighty-eight 

53 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



pages for his outline of the plan of 
salvation. But the founder of Chris- 
tianity needed only nine words; and here 
they are: "I am the way, the truth 
and the life." All that Dr. Hodge 
has said in his exhaustive treatise is 
found embodied, in compact form and 
simplified, in these nine words of Jesus. 

There are just three miles between 
a soul and Bethlehem. Mile number 
one — ^^I am the way." To become a 
Christian one must first of all definitely 
decide to put one's feet resolutely in 
the path of Christ's life. We have 
simply to say to ourself, the way to 
live is to live like Jesus; the way to 
work is to work like Jesus; the way to 
love is to love like Jesus. 

The early disciples were not called 
Christians. No, Christian was a term 
of derision, first used at Antioch by 
those who cordially hated the followers 
of Jesus. The early disciples were 
called "the people of that W-a-y." 

54 



/A 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

When Saul of Tarsus went down to 
Damascus to arrest believers, his war- 
rant read like this, "You are to arrest 
all the people of that Way, whether 
they be men or women, and bring them 
bound unto Jerusalem." 

We read very little of theological 
unrest in the early church, except con- 
cerning the resurrection of the body. 
But they did discuss, and most ear- 
nestly, the Way. Hence we read in 
the Acts of the Apostles, "There arose 
no small stir about the Way." After 
telling just what was this way and 
how one must live to assure the Divine 
incoming, Jesus made the observation: 
"Narrow is the way that leadeth unto 
Life, and few there be that find it; 
broad is the way that leadeth unto de- 
struction and many there are who go 
in thereat." So we see the first step, 
in the plan of salvation, is to set the 
feet in the w-a-y, without respect to 
what we feel, or how much we under- 

55 




im\^ 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



stand of the philosophy of salvation. It 
is to say, "To live like Jesus is the 
way to live. I will do it.'^ 

The next mile in the way to Bethle- 
hem is, "I am the Truth." No man 
truly sets forth on the way of Jesus 
that he does not discover the truth 
as it is in Jesus. We talk about crum- 
bling creeds. What is a creed? Creed 
is from a word meaning I believe. A 
creed is not readymade. We cannot 
buy it as we buy a suit of clothes. We 
can adopt a creed but it is not our 
own unless it expresses us. A creed is 
a discovery — an arrival. 

The remark is often heard, "It doesn't 
matter what you believe.'' Quite true, 
if it is not your belief. But, bear this 
in mind, the man who is walking along 
the w-a-y "doesn't matter," can arrive 
at but one creed, the only one at end 
of that way — doesrCt matter. It was quite 
another way along which Jesus and His 
followers took their wearisome journey 

56 




■4' 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

— the way "it matters much/' There- 
fore did they arrive at clear-cut con- 
victions regarding truth. Pilate asked 
Jesus, "What is truth?" Jesus said, 
"I am the Truth/' But Pilate never 
arrived at the truth as it is in Jesus. 
Why? Pilate was not walking in the way. 
It is splendid to be logical, but it 
isn't salvation. It is perfectly logical 
to have a creed that expresses us. If 
we don't care what we are doing our 
creed will be a don't care creed, but if 
our feet are in the way of Jesus we 
are sure to find the truth as it is in 
Christ. Doing is knowing. "If any 
man will to do His will he shall know 
of the doctrine." A great many re- 
verse it. They say, "Well, when I 
can believe in the virgin birth, and 
the atonement, when I can understand 
the philosophy of the plan of salvation, 
I shall become a Christian." That 
is most improbable. We cannot go 
the second mile until we go the first. 

57 



^ 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




Seeing is not always believing. Be- 
lieving is seeing. 

"I am the Life." That is the last 
mile in the natal journey. When we 
have followed the way and discovered 
truth it becomes second nature. We 
begin to live it. The way, the truth, 
the life. The way — an act of delib- 
erate choice; the truth — a discovery; 
the life — regeneration. This is the way 
to Bethlehem. 

How clearly these mile posts stand 
out in the New Testament. Take, for 
example, the case of Simon Peter, in 
whom Jesus awakened spiritual yearn- 
ings by a call to service. "Do you 
want to make your life worth while? 
Follow me, and I will make you a fisher 
of men." Immediately the nets are 
left and he follows Jesus. We discover 
no trace of intellectual transition or 
change of feeling. We read nothing 
of a cyclonic experience or spiritual 
convulsion. It is the simple winsome- 

58 



<j^^ 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

ness of a wonderful, transcendent per- 
son which has caught his imagination. 
A vista of splendid idealism is suddenly 
opened by the challenge, and the fisher- 
man turns from his nets and follows 
Jesus. Mile number one, the Way. 

Passing over to the sixteenth chapter 
of Matthew we come upon the second 
mile stone in Peter's journey to Beth- 
lehem. It was on the coast of Caesarea 
Philippi that Jesus asked the disciples 
"Whom do men say that I am.?'' Pub- 
lic opinion was as much divided as it is 
to-day. "Some say thou art John the 
Baptist, and some say thou art Elias, 
or one of the prophets. People think 
well of thee quite generally." Without 
comment, Jesus makes the question very 
personal. "But ye, whom say ye that 
I am.'^" Peter is the only disciple who 
seems to have arrived at the truth, for 
he answers, — "Thou art the Christ, the 
Son of the living God." That was a 
discovery. 

59 





A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

If, at the beginning of Peter's spir- 
itual development, Jesus had inquired, 
"'Do you believe in my Deity?'' doubt- 
less that disciple would have said, 
"Lord, what do you mean by Deity?" 
But he simply obeys the call to follow 
in the new way, and he comes upon 
the great discovery that Jesus is very 
God. Observe the immense import- 
ance attached to this confession of faith. 
Then said Jesus, "Because flesh and 
blood have not revealed it unto you, 
but my Father which is in heaven, I 
shall build my church upon this rock 
of personal acquaintance with God, and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it." Mile number two, — discovery of 
Truth. 

Turning now to the Acts of the 
Apostles, second chapter, we witness 
the arrival at Bethlehem. It is the 
greatest day in religious history, the 
day of Pentecost. A diverse multitude 
from every nation is assembled for wor- 

60 



'- "^anigriH^aij^^n^ 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

ship. They need a point of vital con- 
tact with God. There is but one man 
able to provide this. Peter arises and 
so eflPectively reveals the full glory of 
Jesus to the awakened spiritual con- 
sciousness of the assembly, that in one 
day, Christ is born in three thousand 
hearts. There is Life! Life that re- 
flects life; life that begets life. 

Mile one, — "Follow me." Mile two, 
— "Thou art the Christ, the Son of 
the living God/' Mile three, — ^power. 
Mile one, — an act of deliberate choice. 
Mile two, — a discovery. Mile three, — 
life. This is the way to Bethlehem. 

Such is the plan of salvation. Nine 
words, the whole sum and substance 
of efficient living and eternal felicity. 
"I am the way, the truth, and the 
life.'' If you would know the love 
and power of Him whose birthday we 
celebrate, stop magnifying difficulties, 
and follow Jesus. If you desire a creed 
that you can really believe, cease try- 

61 



r-r^.-yiM^i i^--' -. jfc:gy?^^ri -. ..^ — ...iMssmm^^^^ - 





A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

ing to adopt another's creed, and, by 
following Jesus, arrive at your own 
creed. If you would live and breathe 
and have your being in Him, do not 
endeavor to galvanize yourself into ar- 
tificial life; just let the glorious truth 
as it is in Jesus, flood and transform you, 

I have been told of a wonderful plant 
that grows in New Zealand, — the cara 
plant. It has singular habits. Upon 
emerging from the ground, it sends 
forth little feelers which creep about, 
in every direction, in search of a tall 
tree. When once the tree is found, 
the cara plant cuts loose from its root 
and begins to climb, up, up, up, until 
reaching the highest branches, it bursts 
into a hundred gloriously beautiful 
red blooms. But, failing in their quest 
for a great tree, the feelers fasten upon 
the root of the plant, and the cara 
chokes itself to death. 

The human soul is a cara plant, 
which sends forth mind and heart feel- 



m A m.. ^ 



-jfi 



Mm 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

ers. If the sturdy superhuman be not 
found, those feelers lay hold of the 
root of the soul with a death grip. 
But with the finding of a great Christ, 
the soul cuts loose from the earth root, 
and the heart and mind begin to climb, 
up, up, until the spiritual life reaches 
its full bloom in the heart of God. 



63 



VIII 




CHRISTMAS IN THE HEART 

Christmas is a perpetual miracle. 
The Nativity is being celebrated some- 
where all the time. The star shines 
and the angels sing whenever the Di- 
vine One enters a human heart. Only 
by personally sensing the sublime force 
within, does one come under the spell 
of the anniversary which has so grown 
upon the world's fancy. Scarcely a cen- 
tury ago Christmas was not celebrated, 
except by Roman Catholics and Episco- 
palians. To-day Christmas touches all 
space, all time, all men. 

Christmas grips the heart of the world 
because the world is getting more and 
more on the inside of Christmas. Christ- 
mas was the meridian of time. Ancient 
history converged and modern history 
diverged at the manger. Christmas is 
the new-birth of man. 

64 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

Can a man be born again when he is 
old? That question was once asked 
by a scholar, Nicodemus. But it is 
no longer asked by true scholarship. 
Is regeneration a dogma or a fact? 
Science replies, it is a fact. The late 
Professor William James, of Harvard, ex- 
plains the fact in terms that all can under- 
stand. Thanks to such philosophers the 
dark continent of human experience has 
at last been surveyed and charted. 

We are told, by science, that, in addi- 
tion to the ordinary, conscious self, there 
is a sub-conscious self, fully equipped 
with a set of thoughts, feelings, mem- 
ories, — all separate and distinct from 
our conscious self. It is this inner self 
that dreams dreams, sees visions, re- 
sponds to innumerable unseen forces 
and awakes to unexpected love. Into 
this sub-conscious self, we are told, I 
the Divine life comes, from which mys- 
tic throne is wrought out a complete ,|, 
transformation of the conscious self. ' ^^ 

65 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




It is extremely doubtful whether Nico- 
demus or Paul knew aught of this 
scientific aspect of regeneration. But 
they knew the fact and proclaimed it. 
Following the example of the reverent 
magi — they thanked God for the star 
and did not attempt to analyze the 
infinite. Some are always trying to 
know immensity, but they do not rec-^ ^^ 
ognize it when it comes knocking at-^ 
their door with the hand of light. 

Consider two instances, so well ac- 
credited as scientific data that they 
appear in a work on philosophy. "Pro- 
fessor Leuba, an Oxford graduate, a 
journalist of brilliant mind, had not 
entered church for eight years. He 
lived a reckless life, for weeks at a time 
intoxicated. When sober, though suf- 
fering torments because of his evil habit, 
never having a single desire to reform, 
on religious grounds, but thinking only 
of his wasted talents, — often vowing 
to reform and as often breaking his 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



VOW. On July 13th, 1886, at three 
o'clock in the afternoon, after a month 
of sobriety, in perfect health, without 
^ thought concerning religion, he went 
to his room to review as a literary work, 
Henry Drummond's * Natural Law in 
the Spiritual World.' Before opening 
the book, with nothing to suggest it, 
with absolutely no trouble about his 
soul, the words came to him, *He that 
hath the Son hath life, and he that 
hath not the Son hath not life/ He 
had read it before, but he says, ^I 
was now in God's presence; that made 
all the difference. My attention was 
soldered on this verse, and I was not 
allowed to proceed with the book till 
I had fairly considered what these words 
involved, feeling all the while that an- 
other being was in the room, though 
not seen by me. The stillness was mar- 
velous, I was supremely happy. It 
was shown me, in a second of time, 
that I had never touched the Eternal. 

67 







^sP®"^ 





A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



I felt God's love. I felt I was before 
a loving Father. He did not scold me, 
but loved me most wondrously. Still 
I felt my doom was sealed. Then 
there crept into my mind a way of 
escape, gently, lovably, unmistakably. 
It was the old, old story over again. 
No words were spoken, but my soul 
seemed to see my Saviour.' " 

Even more striking is the case of 
Monsieur Alphonse Ratisbone, a free- 
thinking French Jew. He was irre- 
ligious and cherished a positive antip- 
athy for a brother who was a Catholic 
priest. In Rome, at twenty-nine years 
of age, he met a French gentleman 
and was delayed by him at a humble 
church door, which he entered to pass 
the time of waiting. He saw nothing 
within to impress him, and says, "If 
any one had accosted me saying, ^Al- 
phonse, in a quarter of an hour you 
shall be adoring Jesus Christ as your 
God and Saviour; you shall lie pros- 

68 .. 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

trate with your face upon the ground 
in a humble church; you shall renounce 
the world, and its pomps and pleasures, 
renounce your fortune, your hopes, and 
if need be, your betrothed, the affec- 
tions of your^ family, the esteem of 
your friends, and your attachment to 
the Jewish people; you shall have no other 
aspiration than to follow Christ and bear 
His cross till death.' If, I say, a prophet 
had come to me with such a prediction, 
I should have judged that only one per- 
son could be more mad than he — whoso- 
ever, namely, might believe in the prob- 
ability of such senseless folly becoming 
true. And yet that folly is at present 
my only wisdom, my sole happiness/' 

Paralleling the above testimony of 
science, just a single leaf from a min- 
ister's diary. He was fully seventy-five 
years of age, and had never experienced 
a religious emotion of any kind. Early 
one winter morning he went to his 
cellar for coal. As he deposited the 

69 






A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



scuttle upon the cellar floor, the light 
from his flickering candle revealed a 
soiled leaf from a hymn book. All 
that he saw was the title of a hymn, 
^'Let Jesus come into your heart/' For 
no conscious reason he picked up the 
paper and put it in his pocket. When 
he appeared before my Session he de- 
clared that he could not get the message 
of that discarded slip of paper out of 
his mind. He read and reread the 
words of the hynm until, finally, Jesus 
actually did come into his heart. What 
had happened.'^ A soul had reached 
Bethlehem. Christmas had come to 
him in the winter of life. The little song, 
which carried the message to the man 
within the man, so endeared itself to my 
friend that the soiled leaf was preserved 
in his pocketbook, and three years later, 
at his request, it was buried with him. 

Christ comes to the sub-conscious 
self, the humble manger of the soul, be- 
cause usually there is no room for Him 

70 



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A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



in the royal palace of the reason. When 
the souFs nativity arrives Christ enters 
the heart — as He came into the world — 
a babe. Strong minds rebel at nothing 
more than at this. Why rebel .'^ Is 
it not the universal law of life? The 
great thoughts which have turned the 
tide of national or personal destiny came 
as the veriest of infants, to be pursued 
by unrelenting Herod, betrayed by 
Judas, — the avowed friend, — crucified by 
the brawling passions and buried in 
the tomb of some zealous heart, from 
which they finally arose in glory and 
triumph. With an infant's cry, God 
turned the world upside down and be- 
gan anew. Thus only can the great 
Christ come to you. 

In the hope that this anniversary 
occasion may bring heaven's richest gift 
to many, the concluding lines are ded- 
^y^ icated to those who would know the 
mystic meaning of "Christmas in the 
Heart." 

71 



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A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




No rank so low in life, 
No work for God is done, 
No call to enter strife, 
No conflict hardly won, 

No night so dark. 

No terror stark, 

But that somewhere within the soul's 

dark skies, 
Appears the Christmas star to longing 

eyes. 
Be as the shepherds, faithful to the thing 

God bids thee do; then will the angels 
sing. 

Be true to Him, nor fear the drearest 
night. 

And He will bring the Christ Child to 
thy sight. 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



n 





In deepest gloom and chill, 
When clouds hang low and dark, 
When tears the sad eyes fill 
And death, a shining mark 

Seeks in thy heart 

To drive his dart; 

Then as the Shepherds in the darkness 

learned. 
When voices from the sky their footsteps 

turned. 
To find the Child and promise of a day. 
When in His manhood He would bear 

away 
All burden from the heart; then to the 

sheep 
They went again to watch, but not to 

weep, 
Thus while His promise tarries let us 

wait, 




'^v:;. 






A GREATER CHRISTMAS 

Though oft the path be rough — the way 

be straight, 
This Christmas Child will soon in stature 

grow. 
And leading on the hosts of God, will 

show His might and power; 
As riding in the van He comes 
In favor both with God and man. 
The grave of all its victory is despoiled. 
And Satan, the arch enemy, is foiled. 
Then weep no more, nor in the shadows 

grope. 

For Christmas lights the altar fires of 
Hope. 



^j 



74 




A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



III 

And ye who, chained by sin 
Have oft withstood His grace. 
And ne'er would let Him in, 
But turned from Him your face — 

A cruel wrong 

To friend so strong ! 

Embrace this Christmas Child while yet 
you may, 

And oh, delay not, till that awful day 

When, as a King, He sits upon His 
throne. 

And righteous judgments from the books 
are shown. 

Then, to approach Him through the ser- 
ried host 

Will be but as a culprit, to be lost. 

To-day Christ comes to thee an Infant 
Child, 

75 



A GREATER CHRISTMAS 




His voice as soft as babe's, His heart as 

mild. 
A little child is Jesus to the meek; 
A little child is He to all who seek 

His favor and His grace, with pardoned 
sin; 

Open thine arms, and oh! receive Him in. 

To grow within thee, and to show how 
each 

A little child should be in life and speech; 

Philosopher and sage and aged man 

All must a child become — ^and this all can. 



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A GREATER CHRISTMAS 



IV 

Not in a manger lowly, 
Not in an ancient town. 
Not in a temple holy, 
Alone, may Christ be found; 

But in this heart — 

This sinful heart. 

As softly night glides into dawn of day. 

So, softly steals upon my soul the ray 

Of that bright Christmas star, the sign to 
earth 

That Faith and Hope are ours, through 

Jesus' birth. 
When done with thy rebellion and alarms 
This Holy Child will nestle in thine arms. 




77 




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